The Alexei Navalny narrative has dominated global media for months since the opposition leader returned to Russia and was jailed.
On Thursday, Navalny appeared in a Moscow court via video, which was his first public appearance since he began his nearly month-long hunger strike.
It was no surprise that Navalny, who is President Putin’s biggest fear, had his conviction upheld by the judge. Putin allegedly was responsible for trying to murder Navalny, so it would not appear like it would be easy for the opposition leader to be released.
Navalny’s Court Appearance
Navalny did not physically appear in court, but he was present through a video stream. It was apparent that Navalny was on the brink of death before ending his hunger strike. Saying that the opposition leader looked sickly is an understatement.
Navalny mocked the Russian court system and the entire Kremlin, which did not help his cause of having his conviction overturned. He probably figured that he would stay in jail no matter what he said on the video, so he made his comments count.
Alexei Navalny called the judge and the prosecutors “traitors.” He referred to the Kremlin and President Putin as the idiotic “naked king” from “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” a Russian children’s fable.
What Conviction is Navalny Serving?
Navalny was jailed for violating his parole conditions by returning to Russia from Germany; where he recovered from the poison he dealt with in the attempted murder.
He has blamed the Kremlin, but Putin and his officials have denied that they were the group who called for the hit.
However, knowledgeable critics have said that the military-grade agent Novichok could not be used without Putin’s approval. Navalny told his wife that he was taken for a shower, haircut, and shave before the trial.
This is so the Kremlin could clean him up before he was on display for the world. Leaders around the world have stressed their dissatisfaction with Putin’s treatment of the oppositional figure.
Alexei Navalny looked more presentable than he would have if the Kremlin did not allow him to bathe; but he still looked like he has been through starvation.
Navalny began his hunger strike on March 31st, and he was not going to stop until he received his own medical attention. The Kremlin granted him this last week which caused him to stop.
Sounding off on Putin
Before the judge made his decision, Alexei Navalny sounded off on every person who has wronged him in the past few months.
Regarding Putin, Navalny said:
“I would like to say that your king is naked, and more than one little boy is shouting about it…it is now millions of people who are already shouting about it. It is quite obvious. Twenty years of incompetent rule have come to this: there is a crown sliding from his ears. Your naked king wants to rule until the end; he doesn’t care about the country, he is clung to power and wants to rule indefinitely.”
Following this statement, Navalny’s parole conviction was upheld.
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